


Ulterior Motives

by veroreos



Series: Working Together [3]
Category: League of Legends
Genre: Flirting, Garen Is There But Mostly To Be A Huge Baby, Gender Neutral Summoner, Implied Sexual Content, Making Out, Old League Lore, Other, Sorry I Didn't Write Actual Smut, Strangers to Lovers, Why Was There So Much Fluff?? Why Did This Happen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-02
Updated: 2017-06-02
Packaged: 2018-11-07 23:23:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11069211
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/veroreos/pseuds/veroreos
Summary: Not that's he's opposed to it, Darius just isn't sure why the Summoner suddenly seems so keen on working with him.Alternatively: What's denser? A rock, or Darius?





	Ulterior Motives

“You’re picking  _ him _ ?”

For once, Darius and Garen are in total agreement.

The Summoner simply nods, gesturing for Darius to join them. Darius manages to keep his jaw from dropping open in surprise and falls in line standing at their side, while Garen, wearing his heart on his sleeve as always, stands before them dumbstruck.

Darius thought it had been a mistake when he was called to meet with the Summoner before today’s match. Garen and them had always run together top lane, had even been a rather formidable duo at times. Why they would suddenly switch is beyond him, and apparently beyond Garen as well.

As Garen continues to sputter in confusion, the Summoner rolls their eyes, giving him a coy smile. “Come now, Garen. Variety is the spice of life, isn’t it?”

“But...but…!” Garen jabs his finger accusingly at the Noxian. “But why  _ him? _ ”

Darius narrows his eyes, and the Summoner holds up a hand to stop him before he can even start. “Keep your politics out of the Institute, Garen. The General is a fine warrior, and I would like to test his abilities for myself rather than listen to you shamelessly whine about your petty disagreements.”

That gets Garen to snap his mouth shut. Darius snorts in amusement, but a sharp glance from the Summoner makes him stop and clear his throat, averting his gaze. “I will see you on the Rift, Darius.” They turn on their heel and walk away, not giving the men a second glance and leaving the two soldiers to stand in the prep room staring at each other.

Garen is absolutely seething, but to be honest, Darius finds it more funny than anything else. He raises a brow at Garen, keeping his expression perfectly passive, and Garen eventually manages to pull himself away, huffing as he starts to stomp off. “You better not let them down.”

 

The match goes surprisingly well, considering that Darius and the Summoner have never worked together. The first 10 minutes of lane were a bit touch-and-go, as the Summoner nearly had more confidence in Darius than Darius himself did, but it didn’t take long for them to get the ball rolling. (Riven never stood a chance and walked off the Rift swearing up a storm.)

Darius manages to catch them after the match as they congratulate their peers. “Summoner, when you have a moment?” They give him a nod and quickly wrap up their conversation, meeting Darius off to the side. “You did well.”

“As did you,” they say, shaking his hand. Darius can’t help but notice how small theirs is compared to his own. “Thank you for giving me this opportunity, Darius. I look forward to working with you in the future.”

He blinks, the implication setting in. “Why me?” They tilt their head back at him, mirroring his confusion. “I’m honored to be picked by you, of course, but why me?”

“For your sense of humor and good looks,” they say immediately, laughing at the way Darius frowns and crinkles his nose in response. “As I said before. Variety is--”

“--the spice of life, yes,” Darius grumbles, narrowing his eyes. He can’t help but feel suspicious; this sort of move would be seen as a power play in Noxus, some kind of political metagame to maneuver people into the Summoner’s favor.

The Summoner, practically reading his thoughts, rolls their eyes. “Honestly, General, don’t hurt yourself overthinking this. I simply wanted a change of pace. Nothing more, nothing less.”

They stare at each other for a long moment before Darius finally exhales a long breath he didn’t even notice he’d been holding. “As you say, Summoner.”

 

It’s another three matches before Darius is called by the Summoner again. Garen manages to control himself this time, not even bothering to show up to complain, but Darius still feels confused. Four matches later, he’s called again, and then once more three matches after that.

He considers that it might be a matter of who they’re facing, but they call him to fight other champions that they’d had Garen fight before, and Garen had done well enough then. The composition of their own team doesn’t seem to be taken into account either, Darius standing in the place of Garen on identical teams. 

It’s not like he even  _ minds _ working with the Summoner. On the contrary, he finds himself enjoying their company and partnership more and more with every match they spend together. Darius even runs into them often outside of matches now, whether it be passing by in the halls or ending up having lunch together.

Still, the mystery persists. Whenever he talks to them about it, they respond with a sarcastic quip about “his charm” or “just wanting to see his handsome face.” He pouts, they laugh their usual soft and airy giggle, and then they part ways.

Darius would love to say that it doesn’t bother him and doesn’t keep him awake at night, but. Well.

It does.

Darius can only stand not knowing (and being teased about it by Draven) for so long before he decides to get some answers. It’s a sunny afternoon when he goes to seek the Summoner, tracking them down to their usual reading spot in a secluded wing of the Institute. They glance up from where they’re perched on the windowsill, features immediately graced by a warm smile. “Ah, General. Here to brighten up my day?”

The Summoner laughs as blood rushes to Darius’ cheeks. He keeps his stern expression regardless of how his face is turning pink, and his tone stays serious even though the Summoner is giving him a playful grin. “We need to talk.”

They shoot him a curious look as they shut their book. “Of course. How can I help you, Darius?”

Few things make a warrior like Darius hesitate, but apparently, speaking to the Summoner as they look up to him, warm sunlight filtering in behind them and eyes carefully trained on him is enough to make him quake in his boots. Internally he curses himself for the knot forming in his stomach, and he takes a deep breath before finally forcing himself to speak. “What is this?”

There’s a few beats of silence between the two of them before the Summoner laughs. “What’s what?”

“ _ This _ ,” he says with a huff of annoyance, gesturing to the two of them with a wave of his hand. “This whole everything.”

Another pause follows as the Summoner studies him closely. Darius swallows and the Summoner watches the motion, lips pursing for a brief moment in thought before curling into a devious smile. “Are you...asking about  _ us _ , General?”

“Stop that,” Darius immediately snaps, brows furrowing as the Summoner giggles again. “You’ve been dodging the question long enough.”

They raise their hands in mock surrender with a dramatic sigh. “Alright, you’ve caught me.” The book is set to the side, forgotten as the Summoner stands in front of Darius, meeting his eyes from underneath the hood. “You want to know why I’ve been paying you extra attention, yes?”

Darius nods, feeling his pulse quicken in anticipation. The Summoner reaches forward and takes his hands into their own, giving them a gentle squeeze that does little to calm Darius’ nerves as the Summoner finally gives him their answer.

“I’ve been courting you.”

For a moment Darius loses control of his steely facade. He’s not sure what face he makes, but judging by the way the Summoner immediately bursts out in a fit of laughter again, Darius is fairly certain he pulled a Garen. “You--what? You...you can’t possibly be serious.”

“Is it really that hard to believe?” They ask once they manage to right themselves, unable to contain their wide smile. “You’re strong, smart, handsome--and I wasn’t kidding about your sense of humor. A little dry, but still. You’re quite the catch, General. I can’t have possibly been the first to try to woo you.”

He’s had admirers in the past, sure. One particular young man he’d trained had tried to ask Darius out to drinks, but after Darius lectured him about  _ respect _ and  _ chain of command _ and  _ proper protocol _ , nobody else had been bold enough to attempt.

As the realization sets in Darius can feel his face burning again. He opens his mouth to say something but can’t find the words, and as the Summoner starts laughing once more he pulls his hands away to bury his face in them. “I...apologies, Summoner. I didn’t think…”

“It’s quite alright,” they say while gently patting Darius on the side of the arm in an attempt to comfort him. “Your brother did mention that your skull is the densest material in Runeterra.” Darius groans again while the Summoner giggles. “It’s alright, Darius, really. I clearly wasn’t doing a very good job.”

That catches Darius’ attention and forces him to look up from his hands. “No! No, you...you did well. It was my fault, not yours, you’re…” He trails off, face heating up once more as the realization of what he’s saying sets in.

This time the Summoner appears to be blushing as well, looking startled for a moment before grinning wide. “Are you saying I’ve  _ successfully courted you _ , General Darius?”

They stare at each other for a long moment, the Summoner waiting for Darius’ next move, Darius carefully calculating his course of action. This wasn’t something he’d planned for, but now that the opportunity has presented itself, he finds that he has no objections to it. He even kind of wants it.

Even kind of needs it.

In a swift motion Darius has the Summoner in his arms. They let out a squeak of surprise but don’t fight him, and in a few swift steps, Darius has them sitting on the windowsill once more, pinned against the glass. He presses their foreheads together and their gazes meet for only a moment before their mouths meet, desperate and wet as the Summoner locks their arms around Darius’ neck and he pushes them harder against the glass.

The book gets knocked to the floor at some point but neither notices, the Summoner too distracted with moaning into Darius’ mouth and running their hands through his hair, Darius too busy sliding his hands into their robes and feeling the soft skin underneath. “Consider me courted,” Darius whispers against their ear before leaning down to bite at their neck, drawing a surprised gasp from the Summoner.

“Are you sure you want to do this right here?” they ask, though by the way they’re clinging to Darius’ armor, he doubts they’re actually that eager to move. “If someone catches us…”

Darius grabs the Summoner by the hips, pulling them towards him until he’s slotted between their legs. The immediately wrap their legs around his waist in response, and when he grinds against them, they toss their head back and moan. Darius leans in once more and mouths a wet trail lazily down their neck. “I’ll stop when you want me to, Summoner.”

Any further protests are lost under the hitch of their breath as Darius’ hand slips into their underwear.

 

“So, you finally figured it out.”

Darius barely resists the urge to throw the chair in his hand at his brother and instead takes a seat next to him. “You could have just  _ told _ me, Draven.”

“It was funnier this way. Besides, they told me not to.” Draven shrugs, kicking his legs up on the table. “So, what? Are you their new main? ...Not in top lane, I mean, I mean in bed--”

“ _ Thank you _ , I understood what you meant.”

“So are you?”

Darius is about to tell Draven exactly where he can shove his axes when Garen entering the room with his sister catches their attention. Draven looks to Darius with a look of amusement in his eyes that immediately sets off alarms in Darius’ head.

“Do you think Garen’s figured it out yet?” Darius asks in a whisper. Draven practically cackles in response. 

“Garen was the one who told the Summoner that everyone could hear you two going at it in the West Wing, so yes. I’d assume so.”

**Author's Note:**

> this was a request from my dear friend jacky <3  
> (sorry there was no explicit porn idk why i got so caught up giving this a plot)
> 
> next up is Malzahar. i take requests and will get around to them eventually i promise  
> hey holler at me @ vault11overseer.tumblr.com


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